THE PALIK SERIES (edited by Brian Taves)

Volume 1 — The Marriage of a Marquis
Foreword by Brian Taves; Introduction by Walter James Miller; The Marriage of Mr.
Anselme des Tilleuls translated by Edward Baxter, with a preface and notes
by Jean-Michel Margot, afterword by Edward Baxter; Appendix: Jédédias
Jamet, or The Tale of an Inheritance translated, and with a preface and
annotations, by Kieran M. O’Driscoll.

Available at Amazon.com in paperback and Kindle editions and reviewed
there.

Jules Verne is the acclaimed author of such pioneering science fiction
as 20,000
Leagues Under the Sea and Journey to the Center of the Earth.
Yet he also wrote much more, including stories never before translated into English,
which are presented for the first time in the Palik series, under the auspices of
the North American Jules Verne Society. Foreshadowing such classics as Around the
World in 80 Days, this inaugural volume focuses on two of Verne’s
earliest humorous stories, The Marriage of Mr. Anselme des Tilleuls and
Jédédias Jamet, or The Tale of an Inheritance. Translation
is provided by Edward Baxter and Kieran O’Driscoll, two of the leading Verne
experts; critical commentary examines both stories, and scholars explore why some
of the author’s stories were overlooked for so many years.

“I am a Jules Verne reader and collector. As such, I deeply appreciate the
new editions of Verne being published by BearManor Fiction in its Palik Series.
The most recent volume The Marriage of a Marquis features a wealth of extras,
starting with essays by three of the leading Verne scholars of our time: Brian Taves,
the late Walter James Miller, and Jean-Michel Margot, followed by commentary by
translator Edward Baxter and an additional Verne fragment translated by Kieran M.
O’Driscoll. The paperback’s gorgeous cover resembles one of the classic
French Hetzel editions. Jules Verne was more than just a writer of boys’ adventures
and his oeuvre extends way beyond the four or five classics that everyone knows
about. He’s a writer well worth exploring and rediscovering.”

— Michael Dirda, The Washington Post

“The story that gives this volume its title introduces English readers to
a clever young writer’s portraits of two memorable twits living in France’s
equivalent of ancient Abdera. Not the least of its attractions is Verne’s
witty demonstration of the power of Latin over matters of the heart.”

— Martin M. Winkler, Professor of Classics, George Mason University

“I thought I knew Verne, but I had no idea how wonderful his sense of humor
was until I read the first. Bravo! ”

Castaway by pirates on a deserted island … without tools or
supplies to survive
… a mother and her children have only a kindly old sailor to help. But what
explains the strange flora and fauna they find? The second volume in the Palik series,
presented by the North American Jules Verne Society, offers another story never
before published in English. Shipwrecked Family was rejected by Verne’s
publisher, so rather than finish it, he began to rewrite it with new characters—and
that became the classic, The Mysterious Island, where Captain Nemo made
his last appearance. Here, then, is Verne’s first draft of that novel, one
which is very different from the book that it became. Expert translation is provided
by Sidney Kravitz, also translator of the definitive modern edition of The Mysterious
Island.

“Many thanks … I was very pleased you included a dedication to me as
well as a still from our film. It is fascinating to read how some of his books actually
got started.”

— Ray Harryhausen, special effects wizard of the 1961 film “The Mysterious
Island”

Long before Jules Verne stories had formed the basis for such movies
as Around the
World in 80 Days, many of his plays were theatrical blockbusters on the
19th century stage. Expert scholarly research introduces four of Verne’s
plays written in his youth, translated by Frank Morlock. Verne’s themes range
from romantic comedies to a scientist’s discovery that there may not be such
a difference between human and ape after all!
Verne’s collaborators on the four plays in this volume include Michel Carré,
Charles Wallut, and Victorien Sardou.

“A work for Verne aficionados, theater buffs, or just those who enjoy a good
story…. See another side of the ‘Father of Science Fiction.’”

— Washington Science Fiction Association

Volume 4 — The Count of Chanteleine: A Tale of the French
Revolution
Translated by Edward Baxter; Introduction by Brian Taves; Notes and maps by Garmt
de Vries-Uiterweerd; Afterword by Volker Dehs

Available at Amazon.com in paperback, Kindle and Audible.com
editions and reviewed
there. The Audible.com version is a professional reading by vocal artist
Fred Frees. Here is a YouTube ad for the recording and you can hear of sample of the reading
here.

This is a novel for everyone who has thrilled to the adventures
of A Tale of Two
Cities, The Scarlet Pimpernel, or Scaramouche. A nobleman,
the Count of Chanteleine, leads a rebellion against the revolutionary French government.
While he fights for the monarchy and the Catholic Church, his home is destroyed
and his wife murdered by the mob. Chanteleine must struggle to save his daughter
from the threat of the guillotine. This exciting swashbuckler is also a meticulous
historical recreation of a particularly bloody episode in the Reign of Terror.

The Count of Chanteleine is the first English translation of this Jules
Verne story, with expert translation by Edward Baxter, with critical commentary
by an international team of Verne experts.

“The Count of Chanteleine, Verne’s foray into historical fiction
is a combination of The Scarlet Pimpernel, A Tale of Two Cities,
or Scaramouche…. Verne was a master of plot twists and a thundering
pace. It’s downright cinematic and you may polish it off in a single session.

“The translator did his task well; it’s easy to read. There’s
suitable illustrations and handy maps. Useful notes by two Verne scholars, and an
introduction make it easy to understand the history that the background to all this
Revolutionary derring-do. It could be a fine gift.”

“The Count of Chanteleine belongs to the rich literary tradition
inspired by the French Revolution both in France and in England. As the editor notes,
it adds to the romantic view of the Revolution illustrated by Dickens’s A
Tale of Two Cities, and Orczy’s immensely popular adventures of the
Scarlet Pimpernel, which were to delight early twentieth-century readers.
With its careful annotation and afterword by well-known Verne scholars, The Count
of Chanteleine is an ideal text for readers of French fiction and particularly
for those interested in nineteenth-century interpretations of the French Revolution.
Like other titles published in the series, the book includes the original illustrations
and reproduces the famous Hetzel cover.”

Literary fraud or filial devotion? This is the question at the heart
of a firestorm
that erupted two decades ago. Manuscripts and letters were discovered that proved
that Jules Verne’s son, Michel, significantly revised over a dozen of the
stories published under his father’s name, and even originated some of them
himself. It was a collaboration that had begun while both were still alive, and
continued as Michel saw to posthumous publication many of his father’s stories.
In this volume can be found one story as it was written by Jules (as Pierre-Jean),
revised by his son (into The Somber Fate of Jean Morénas)—and
subsequently brought to the silent movie screen in yet another version by Michel.
Also in these pages is the first English translation of a novel Jules began, Fact-Finding
Mission, but which his son finished, and has hitherto only been available
in the completed version by Michel. The English version and notes are by a leading
authority on Verne translations, Kieran O’Driscoll.

“Kieran O’Driscoll served as the translator for this fine volume and
was also responsible for its critical notes which offer a refreshingly unbiased
and nonjudgmental view on the ‘familial collaboration’ between Jules
and Michel Verne and their often controversial literary (and cinematic) legacy.”

— Arthur B. Evans, Editorial, Verniana — Volume 5 (2012-2013)

Volume 6 — Around the World in 80 Days — The 1874 Play
by Jules Verne and Adolphe D’Ennery; Introduction by Philippe Burgaud, with
Jean-Michel Margot and Brian Taves; with Verne’s “The Meridians and
the Calendar” translated and annotated by Jean-Louis Trudel; Appendix: The
Play on Screen by Brian Taves

Available at Amazon.com in paperback and Kindle editions and reviewed
there.

Verne’s most famous novel was originally conceived as a novel—and
had its greatest 19th century success as a stage hit. Running for literally
thousands of performances in many different countries, including the United States,
here is the original playscript, translated directly from the French by the producers
of the original Broadway presentation. Like filmmakers after him, Verne understood
the need to adapt his novel for a new medium, and enhance the dramatic spectacle.
In collaboration with Adolphe d’Ennery, Verne created a distinct variation
on the novel, with many different characters and episodes. All of those who love
the book will want to read Verne’s stage version. Included are an introduction
by Verne scholar Philippe Burgaud and the first translation of Verne’s essay,
“The Meridians and the Calendar,” explaining how Phileas Fogg accomplished
his feat despite actually traveling 81 days.

“Once again we recommend this latest publication in this series; it’s
for anyone who enjoys the imagination of Jules Verne.”

The Nautilus, the submarine of the outlaw Captain Nemo
in 20,000 Leagues
Under the Sea, was not the first undersea craft imagined by
the prophetic author! A decade before that classic, Jules Verne wrote “San
Carlos,” telling of a Spanish smuggler who evades authorities with a vehicle
that can dive beneath the surface of the waves.

Accompanying this story is The Siege of Rome, a historical adventure in
the Alexandre Dumas tradition, recounting a romance of love and betrayal as French
forces retake Rome from the Italian revolutionaries of Garibaldi in 1849.

These two Verne stories are both published here in English for the first time, after
acclaim from readers in France, Russia, Spain, Turkey, Hungary, the Czech Republic,
and even China.

“It’s a fascinating book, especially Verne’s ruminations about
the future of submarine warfare.”

— Larry Brooks, Disney’s 20,000 Leagues yahoo group moderator

“The admirers of the writings of Jules Verne are dedicated indeed: the North
American Jules Verne Society www.najvs.org is publishing a long series
of his books, plays, and articles, many translated into English for the first
time. BANDITS & REBELS (Albany: BearManor Fiction, 2013; 214 pp., $19.95)
includes his ‘The Siege of Rome’ (a historical adventure in the tradition
of Alexandre Dumas), with series editor Brian Taves’ comment that Verne, in
1857, reviewed a painting with that title by Horace Vernet, noted as a relation
of Sherlock Holmes.

Conan Doyle also admired Verne’s works, and read some of them in French at
Stonyhurst at the age of 14, encountering the Nautilus long before he wrote
‘Danger!’ (1914). BANDITS & REBELS also has the first story (‘San
Carlos’) Verne wrote about submarines, long before he wrote TWENTY THOUSAND
LEAGUES UNDER THE SEA.”

Verne’s “Extraordinary Journeys” often used the
travelogue mode, and here the author offers a voyage down the entire length of the
Danube, from Germany to the Black Sea. However, rather than the placid “blue”
Danube of classical conception, the author offers one which is golden, in multiple
ways. Smugglers are operating along the river, with the police in pursuit, and
the hero is a champion fisherman who is abducted and forced to prove his courage.

“A true ‘time lost’ literary treasure, this newly available work
of the legendary French author, Jules Verne, ‘Golden Danube’, is an
extraordinarily entertaining novel that has stood up well to the test of time. Ably
translated into English by Kieran M. O’Driscoll, and under the editorial aegis
of the North American Jules Verne Society in the person of Brian Taves, ‘Golden
Danube’ is a ‘must read’ for the legion of Jules Verne fans and
will prove to be an enduringly popular addition to personal and community library
collections.”

Volume 9 — A Priest in 1835
Translated, with notes, by Danièle Chatelain Slusser and George Slusser

In November the NAJVS learned of the passing of one of our members, George Slusser.
Some of George’s scholarly work is documented in this notice on his passing
on his university’s website: http://ucrtoday.ucr.edu/25704

George became active with our society back in 2007, but some of us first met him
in the year 2000 when we held
our society’s annual meeting in San Diego. From there we made a trip to Riverside
to visit The J. Lloyd Eaton Collection of Science Fiction, Fantasy, & Horror
Literature. George was curator and allowed us to peruse some of the Jules Verne
material that was part of this very impressive collection. Our 2009 meeting was
held in conjunction with the Eaton Science Fiction Conference where the theme of
the meeting for that year was “Extraordinary Voyages: Jules Verne and Beyond.”
There George moderated a couple of panel discussions and also did a presentation
on the “Intra-Ordinary Voyages: From Jules Verne to Surrealism.” Besides
his other past work that you may have read about on the UC Riverside link above,
George and his wife Danièle Chatelain-Slusser (also a NAJVS member) were
working on the next upcoming volume in our Palik Series. They are doing the translation
and notes for the first ever English translation of the Verne story “A Priest
in 1835.” This volume is currently in the proofing stages and should be released
sometime this year.

As we’ve done with other members who’ve made significant contributions
to Verne studies we’re
putting together something for an upcoming issue of our newsletter. If you have
any memories of George you’d like to share, please share them and we’ll
collect them for a piece in our newsletter.